journal
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...
of
secular humanist
Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basi ...
opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, a program of the
Center for Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a U.S. nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal and to fight the influence of religion in government.
History
The Center for Inquiry was established in 1991 by ...
. Philosopher
Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Bu ...
was the
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
from its inception in 1980 until stepping down in 2010. Kurtz was succeeded by Tom Flynn who worked as Editor in Chief until 2021. Paul Fidalgo was named editor in 2022, beginning with the October/November issue. Feature articles cover a wide range of topics from a
freethinking
Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief.
A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...
perspective. Common themes are
separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
,
science and religion
The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the Ancient history, ancient and Middle Ages, medieval worlds did not have conc ...
, dissemination of freethought, and
applied philosophy
Applied philosophy (philosophy from Greek: φιλοσοφία, philosophia, 'love of wisdom') is a branch of philosophy that studies philosophical problems of practical concern. The topic covers a broad spectrum of issues in environment, medicin ...
. Regular contributors include well-known scholars in the fields of science and philosophy.
Controversy
In Free Inquiry's April–May 2006 issue, the magazine published four of the cartoons that had originally appeared in the Danish newspaper ''
Jyllands-Posten
(; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 120,000 copies.violent worldwide Muslim protests. Kurtz, editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry said, "What is at stake is the precious right of freedom of expression". The
Borders
A border is a geographical boundary.
Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film
* ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
refused to carry this issue in their main and Waldenbooks stores because of the cartoons. The reason given by Borders for their decision was not sensitivity to religion but fear of violence.
The story made national and international news and the implications of this
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...
were widely discussed, including by
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
, ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. The "blogosphere" widely condemned the decision of Borders to ban the magazine and columnist
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
lamented the action in an article.
Columnists
Regular columnists include:
*
Ophelia Benson
Ophelia Benson (born 1948) is an American author, editor, blogger, and feminist. Benson is the editor of the website ''Butterflies and Wheels'' and a columnist and former associate editor of '' The Philosophers' Magazine''. She is also a columni ...
– Author and blogger
*
Russell Blackford
Russell Blackford (born 1954) is an Australian writer, philosopher, and literary critic.
Early life and education
Blackford was born in Sydney, and grew up in the city of Lake Macquarie, near Newcastle, New South Wales. After graduating with ...
– Author and philosopher
* Greta Christina – Author and blogger
*
Shadia Drury
Shadia B. Drury (born 1950) is a Canadian academic and political commentator. She is a professor emerita at the University of Regina. In 2005, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Early life and education
Drury was born in ...
– Professor of Philosophy and Political Science
*
Tibor Machan
Tibor Richard Machan (; 18 March 1939 – 24 March 2016) was a Hungarian-American philosopher. A professor emeritus in the department of philosophy at Auburn University, Machan held the R. C. Hoiles Chair of Business Ethics and Free Enterpri ...
– Professor of Philosophy
*
Mark Rubinstein
Mark Edward Rubinstein (June 8, 1944 – May 9, 2019) was a leading financial economics, financial economist and financial engineering, financial engineer. He was Paul Stephens Professor of Applied Investment Analysis at the Haas School of Busine ...
– Economist
*
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar (; born 1991) is an Iraqi-American human-rights activist and social entrepreneur who was admitted to the United States as a refugee in 2013. He is founder of Global Conversations and Ideas Beyond Borders and formerly worked ...
– Commentator and social critic
Editorial Board
* Editor in Chief:
Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Bu ...
(until May 2010)
* Editor: Paul Fidalgo
* Managing Editor: Nicole Scott
* Assistant Editor: Julia Lavarnway
* Senior Editors: Bill Cooke,
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
, Ed Doerr (deceased), James Haught,
Jim Herrick
Jim Herrick (August 1944 – 20 June 2023) was a British humanist and secularist. He studied history and English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge University, and then worked as a school teacher for seven years. He wrote or edited sever ...
, Ronald A. Lindsay, Taslima Nasrin
Paul Kurtz 1979.jpg, Paul Kurtz - 1980 to 2010
CSICON 2011-Tom Flynn.jpg, Tom Flynn - 2011 to 2021
Paul Fidalgo CSICon 2019 Portrait.jpg, Paul Fidalgo - 2022 to 2024